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redrumsoxLoL Ballot for 2026 Preseason

Ballot Type: Human

Submitted: Aug. 23, 2026, 5:57 p.m.

Rank Team Reason
1 Ohio State Buckeyes There are no guarantees in College football but the Buckeyes are going to be strong again this year. They are completely loaded with talent and have one of the best head coaches in college football.
2 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia should be incredibly strong and I believe Kirby Smart is the single best head coach in this sport, but Gunner Stockton is a Quarterback I don't have the most faith in and that keeps them out of the #1 spot for me.
3 Oregon Ducks The Ducks are going to be strong and are being helmed by a true heisman contender in Dante Moore. They are a very balanced team but their defense might be just a step behind elite.
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame also is being led by a great offense and a good defense, but I have them just a step behind Georgia and Oregon
5 Texas Longhorns The Longhorns as opposed to the teams ahead of them I have more faith in their defense than their offense. Arch Manning continues to get better every season, but he has yet to put together a complete strong season without at least a couple head scratcher games so until I see that I don't see them accomplishing their ultimate goal.
6 Indiana Hoosiers Indiana coming off a national championship you must expect them to be strong, but replacing the heisman winner after he was among a program record of 8 players drafted from Indiana. Cignetti showed himself as one of the elite coaches in the game, but one championship isn't enough to convince me for sure that he can re-capture the strength of the 2025 team.
7 Miami Hurricanes Miami had a surprising run to the National title game last season and could be even stronger with the addition of quarterback, Darian Mensah.
8 Texas Tech Red Raiders The Red Raiders last season were led by their elite defense which is strange for the history of this program. If their offense can match their defense they could make a strong run in the playoffs.
9 Alabama Crimson Tide There are many question marks on who will step up on this roster, but their is a bunch of talent and the potential is there up & down the depth chart.
10 Texas A&M Aggies The Aggies like the Longhorns have one of the best defenses in the country but I don't trust their offense led by Marcell Reed to be a national championship contender.
11 Ole Miss Rebels Ole Miss lost Coach Kiffin but a run to the Semi-finals last season under the replacement Pete Golding showed that this program has the potential to rally around him and have another strong season
12 BYU Cougars I keep waiting for BYU to make the jump from "very good" to "great" and this could wind up being the year. Their defense is strong and their offense should continue to improve under Big-12 freshman of the year Bear Bachmeier.
13 Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners season to me hinges on if John Mateer can play like he did at the beginning of 2025 when he was leading the heisman conversation or if he plays how he did post injury. Their defense should be strong enough to contend, but their offense will determine if they are among the elite in the SEC.
14 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee is the opposite of Oklahoma in my view. Their offense should be elite no matter who wins the quarterback job there, their defense though was in the bottom half of the SEC in 2025 and will need to step up.
15 Utah Utes Utah by many metrics had the best offense in the Big-12 last season racking up tons of points against most Big-12 competition, but they were slowed down against the other contenders in the conference, BYU and Texas Tech.
16 LSU Tigers LSU has one of the best defenses in the country, but I don't expect the first year under Lane Kiffin will be successful one for the Tigers.
17 Michigan Wolverines Michigan is extremely well balanced. They are sporting a strong offense and defense, but I don't believe either will be in the elite conversation that will allow them to take down the true contenders consistently.
18 USC Trojans USC comes in with a talented offense, but they would need to exceed expectations to compete for the B1G title as they have Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State on their schedule.
19 Missouri Tigers Another balanced team, I think these Tigers will be competitive in the SEC, but with Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas and Texas A&M on their schedule they likely need to make a couple of upsets happen to claim a spot in the playoffs
20 Houston Cougars This Houston team is an exciting one to me. Quarterback Conner Weigman has had a strange path in college but has finally delivered as a Cougar while running back Makhi Hughes will be very important after re-uniting with his head coach at Tulane, Willie Fritz.
21 Clemson Tigers The Tigers offense is projected to be strong but it won't be easy to replace Klubnik at quarterback.
22 Penn State Nittany Lions Penn State is dealing with replacing a head coach and a significant portion of their roster but a very strong transfer class including a large amount of Iowa St players highlighted by quarterback Rocco Becht can lead this team to be a competitor in the B1G
23 Boise State Broncos Boise State is the heavy favorite to win the rebuilt Pac-12 and I expect this performance would lead them to claiming a spot in the College football playoff.
24 TCU Horned Frogs This TCU team looks to re-capture the magic that we saw on their run to the 2022 National title game. We will get a sneak peek early on as TCU plays in the first game of the season in Ireland.
25 SMU Mustangs SMU is a real dark horse in the ACC this year after narrowly missing out from qualifying for the ACC championship game last season.

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